Khalimandaria’s soft lips formed a broad, warm smile and spread across the visible part of her face, hoping to assure the young girl that it was not seeking to harm her in any way, but even though it was glad to have come upon such a friendly sight, something did not feel right. This was definitely not the presence it could feel earlier, the one which had been watching it for so long and it had sought out in return, just to stumble upon this frail child with the strange, clattering bones from which she seemed to speak. The angelic being had crouched down when the girl turned her head downwards, hoping not to dwarf her with its much larger size, something that seemed to be proving rather intimidating to the poor girl, and hoped that she was not frightened by its presence. It tilted its head to the right slightly at the sound of the girl’s soft, wispy voice and the accompanying clatter of bones.
“Erixianti, a pretty name for a pretty girl, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The girl seemed so anxious and frightened, maybe she was unaccustomed to one such as Khalimandaria, or merely disliked the company of strangers, but when she spoke of searching for her protector it seemed to make much more sense to it. A slight frown formed across its face as it pondered this occurrence, and when it spoke next there was just the slightest hint of a contemptuous snarl in her voice, “Searching for your protector? A protector who loses track of their charge might not be worthy of such a title little one. Do not worry though Erixianti, I could always accompany you until we come across this so called protector. May I ask to where you travel young one?”
Once again there was that soft, wispy voice and clatter of bones as Erixianti spoke through a strange skull, only one piece from an assortment of bones of all shapes and sizes, a rather curious preference of accessories for such a small, timid child, but there were stranger sights to be seen in this world. The voice was much clearer and firm this time, something that relieved Khalimandaria quite a bit, enough so to bring another soft smile to her lips again, especially upon hearing the child’s request. The thought that there was someone else located somewhere within the desolate, lonesome city where Khalimandaria felt that piercing gaze staring down upon it was almost too much for it to believe, and immediately a protective and curious instinct kicked-in.
Khalimandaria nodded curtly as the girl’s voice quieted down, the skull seeming to quiver and quake with urgency, and she lost the girl’s gaze once again. A delicate hand reached out towards the young Erixianti, stopping just shy of lightly grasping her thin shoulder, not wanting to frighten the girl any more than she seemed to be at the moment, and the angelic being stood back up, stretching its wings just slightly as it set its gaze upon the city. “We should hurry Erixianti, there is a dangerous aura about that city, and a young one such as yourself should not wander in there alone. Come now; let us retrieve this ‘someone’.” Khalimandaria set a quick pace back to the city from which it had wandered, in search of someone or something which it had not found just yet. Maybe they were this “someone” Erixianti wish to retrieve, or even her so-called “protector”?
Once again time passed by in an indistinguishable manner, as they crossed over the threshold into the city itself and began wandering the ruins aimlessly in search of this other stranger, with Erixianti still seeming so anxious and in a hurry to find the person for whom they sought. Khalimandaria decided to stop in what appeared to have been a fountain-area at one point in time, now toppled-over and reclaimed by some form of vegetation unknown to the angelic one. It turned around to face the young girl, as it tried to stay somewhat in-front of her should anything jump out to surprise them as they traversed the ruins. “Let us stop for a time Erixianti, the one for whom we seek might just wander by this way whilst we rest, and if not we can at least reconsider how we are searching. Now, tell me, what does this person look like? Are they male, female, or something else?”